Catalyst Onboarding Pipeline Management Platform

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Sheraz Ahmed

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

9

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

In addition to providing support to Catalyst proposers, we will set up an off-the-shelf project management solution to manage the pipeline for key stakeholders in the ecosystem.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

We will be using commercial off-the-shelf software to manage the pipeline in order to reduce development costs. There are several options to choose from that are more or less equivalent in capability and price, and all of them are well-established, so this will not become a blocker to project progress.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

No

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

The pipeline management platform will have to be licensed.

In terms of our outputs, we will open-source any onboarding documents or lessons learned that are relevant to the ecosystem as a whole, particularly when it comes to streamlining onboarding.

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG Goals

4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Summary:

We will purchase and set up an off-the-shelf project management tool to help onboard people to the Catalyst funding system at a lower effort for members of the Cardano community, including the Cardano Foundation and Catalyst teams. In the process of onboarding people to Funds 12 and 13, we will create both internal and external documentation help others do the same and answer frequent questions from prospective and existing projects.

Prototype:

https://doc.clickup.com/9015649367/d/h/8cnzt2q-115/35ba338dfff4725

This is the prototype of the platform. It allows you to see some of the kanban boards we'll put in place, although for reasons noted in the prototype notes, you won't be able to see the full flow without logging in. We've already started using this as a means to validate the need for this kind of system, and the response has been enthusiastic so far.

It's also worth noting we're building this based on our experience. We guided 15 teams through onboarding for Fund 12, resulting in over a dozen proposals, some of which will be highly valuable to the ecosystem. This solution is a response to some of the inefficiencies and pains we uncovered during that process, working with other stakeholders in Cardano.

Detail:

Cardano is known for its welcoming and supportive community and their enthusiastic preference for the ecosystem. Cardano is different, not just because it uses functional languages like Haskell and Plutus, but because it truly aims to walk the talk of decentralization and community rule. Due to the decentralized nature of Cardano’s governance system, as well as the rigorous nature of its development cycle, it is difficult to respond to the rapid increase in demand for participation in the ecosystem.

Our engagements with the Cardano community and the Catalyst innovation platform have validated that while the community, the Cardano Foundation, and the Catalyst team have the desire to welcome everyone who would like to build on and be funded by the Cardano ecosystem, there is limited capacity to do so and it needs to be focused on the opportunities that will be most beneficial for the ecosystem as a whole.

This is fundamentally an operational problem, one of prioritization and pipeline management so that the right resources can be allocated to help people who need it. We will identify recurrent use cases, create onboarding materials, create forms and workflows to allow potential projects to be categorized.

To do this, we will select an off-the-shelf project management tool that has the necessary flexibility and capability, set it up, and start processing incoming project teams to help them submit proposals for Catalyst funding including engaging with the community and putting the good of the ecosystem forward.

*Note: we had originally planned this for a full, multi-purpose build, but were downgraded from an MVP to an Ecosystem project as we are not coding the solution from scratch (which wouldn't make sense). We'll deliver what we can based on the funding allocated, but the scope of the roadmap will have to be managed accordingly.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

With several ecosystems vying for the best projects at a time when markets and institutions are picking their solutions of choice, our project aims to free up ecosystem resources in order to facilitate growth:

Streamlined onboarding process: by resolving the most frequent sources of friction in project teams onboarding to Catalyst or building on Cardano, we aim to reduce the in-kind costs associated with participating and make choosing Cardano an easier choice. The first step will be creating forms, project boards, and dashboards to provide intake capabilities.

Categorization of projects: by pre-sorting proposals by Catalyst categories, type, and team size, we can reduce project team uncertainty and allow the Cardano Foundation and Catalyst teams to select and batch their interventions, or request support from the community and Cardano Ambassadors.

Escalation of key projects: using documentation and feedback from the Cardano Foundation or Catalyst teams, we will use automation in order to highlight projects that align with one or more of the strategic priorities set by key ecosystem participants.

Scalable onboarding: by assembling a tool and team members around the challenge of onboarding new projects and team, we will refine and document best practices so that they can be scaled up or scaled down based on the needs of the ecosystem.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

STORM Partners has spent the past years building its capability to promote ecosystems like Cardano in the Web3 way, through community-driven engagement and by making the value of Web3 clear to more traditional stakeholders. In the course of the first phase of our Fund 11 project 1100168, Innovation center to promote Cardano and facilitate entrepreneur participation we helped onboard fifteen project teams to Project catalyst, with just under 50% of them going on to submit one or more proposals for Fund 12. This project is a step forward in that effort, looking to systematize and scale based on our lessons learned.

Our Director of Operations has built out CRM, project management, and knowledge management implementations for several startups and enterprises. He has used tools like Asana, Clickup, Hubspot, and Notion. The work is not complicated, but it is complex and lengthy and it does require dedicated resources.

In addition, the general manager of our community space from the previous proposal has done a complete Clickup build in order to manage weekly releases of products submitted by third parties for an internal team to coordinate both internal and external resources–which is very similar to the process required here.

Finally, Marco Moshi, our Ecosystem Director, has extensive experience in attracting, growing, and advising projects, as well as growing ecosystems as a whole. By bringing together the process, the tool, and the expertise, we aim to increase the diversity, utility, and scale of projects and tools available to use and collaborate with on Cardano.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

The goal of the first Milestone will be to assemble the team and decide on which software solution to use.

Outputs

1. Project onboarding document (draft)
2. Team lead introduction to the community
3. Platform selection report

Acceptance Criteria

1. A draft .pdf document with the team members, the milestones and subtasks, key deadlines. This document will be a draft because it will be updated as the project progresses.
2. A 1-2 minute video introducing the team and the project to the community, shared on social media (channel TBC, but probably TG or Twitter)
3. A .pdf document providing an review of key off-the-shelf project or pipeline management solutions, their features, their costs, which one was selected, and why.

Evidence

1. A link to the draft.
2. A link to the video and a link (twitter) or photo (TG) of the social post.
3. A link to the document.

All evidence to be presented per the acceptance criteria and stored on a public notion page or shared folder.

The goal of the second milestone will be to provide support to projects or companies put forward by the Cardano Foundation or Catalyst teams and start defining workflows.

Outputs

1. Monthly report on support provided
2. Report on initial engagements
3. Draft workflows to streamline onboarding

Acceptance Criteria

1. A .pdf of a spreadsheet with a list of projects supported, the type of support, and the time spent on each, with any confidential information redacted.
2. A .pdf document containing the analysis of the data from the projects supported, with a focus on categorizing projects by the type and quantity they require, and providing initial conclusions on how to optimize the time required. The report will also identify people or organizations who are key stakeholders in Cardano project or company acquisition.
3. A .pdf with screenshots and preliminary workflows to be built in the platform selected in milestone 1.

Evidence

1. A link to the .pdf.
2. A link to the .pdf.
3. A link to the .pdf.

All evidence to be presented per the acceptance criteria and stored on a public notion page or shared folder.

The goal of this milestone will be to validate the workflows and build them in the chosen platform in order to support more projects with less time or effort required.

Outputs

1. The receipt for the platform subscription
2. Documentation of any engagements with key ecosystem participants.
3. A roadmap of functionality setup within the platform.
4. A revised report.

Acceptance Criteria

1. A .pdf of the paid invoice or receipt generated by the platform, with any personal information redacted.
2. A .pdf with summaries and key takeaways from engagements with key stakeholders identified in the Milestone 2 report, with a focus on validating workflows and onboarding sources and needs.
3. A .pdf that lists and prioritizes the setup tasks and user stories that should be built out in the pipeline management platform, including which stakeholders endorsed the feature and what the value proposition is, within the confines of confidentiality. Build-out limited by budget, we will balance quick wins and priorities as best we can.
4. A .pdf of the report from Milestone 2 with an added section regarding how the suggested optimizations can reduce the time or seniority required to support projects. Includes a definition of metrics to measure progress and a tentative estimate of the number of projects that can be supported for the remainder of the period.

Evidence

1. A link to the .pdf.
2. A link to the .pdf.
3. A link to the .pdf.
4. A link to the .pdf.

All evidence to be presented per the acceptance criteria and stored on a public notion page or shared folder.

The fourth milestone will focus on execution of proposal support using the new system and checking our assumptions.

Output

1. Monthly report on support provided.
2. Final report on the pipeline management platform.

Acceptance criteria

1. A .pdf of a spreadsheet with a list of projects supported, the type of support, and the time spent on each, with any confidential information redacted.
2. A .pdf of the final and cumulative report on the implementation of the pipeline management platform, focusing on quantifying increases in the ability to support onboarding to the Catalyst program through metrics defined in milestone 3.

The goal of the final milestone will be to communicate the project and close it out.

Outputs

1. End of project report
2. End of project video

Acceptance criteria

1. The .pdf of the end of project report will combine the finalized report from Milestone 3, including design elements like graphics and specific recommendations for each Catalyst category, the team's lessons learned from implementing the project, and any closeout statements from the team lead. Further, it will list the organizations and channels to whom or in which the report was made available (at minimum the community through TG or Twitter and the Cardano Foundation).
2. A 2-3 minute summary of the findings from the end of project report.

Evidence

1. A link to the pdf.
2. A link to the video

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Ecosystem Department

Marco Moshi - Ecosystem Director

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-moshi/

Marco Moshi is a dynamic leader in the Web3 ecosystem, currently serving as the Ecosystem Director at Storm Partners. With a profound understanding of decentralized technologies, Marco has spearheaded key initiatives such as Polygon Village and the Polygon DAO. His technical expertise and strategic insight have significantly contributed to lowering entry thresholds in Web3 and enhancing decentralized governance across major organizations. Committed to the progressive decentralization of business and social layers, Marco continues to drive impactful growth and innovation within the blockchain space.

Operations Department

Darby (D.J.) Bodden - Director of Operations

https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-j-bodden-00598a5b/ 

D.J. is a 20-year professional with a focus in organizing both large formal and small startup operations. He started as a military officer, and then transitioned to commodity trading before helping start and fund a blockchain traceability startup from the ground up, working with large enterprises to deliver the solution. He has since then used the lessons learned those experiences to help businesses refine their strategy, operations, and processes.

Marketing Department - Community Engagement & Design

Leon Waters

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leon-waters-leon-tk/

With over a decade of experience, first as a journalist in the music industry and then as a polyvalent marketer in Web3, Leon Waters is a flexible and capable professional who brings a higher level of engagement, reach, and clarity to any project he participates in.

Project Coordinator - 

Sheraz Ahmed - Managing Partner

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherazahmed1/

Sheraz Ahmed has advised hundreds of organisations on the implementation of modern Web3 practices to further their business objectives. As the Managing Partner of STORM Partners, an all-in-one service provider, and as the Co-Executive Director of the Crypto Valley Association, he drives growth, collaboration, and integrity across the global blockchain ecosystem!

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Research and product/service development: 35k ADA

Platform costs: ~10k ADA

Product setup and management: 40k ADA

Project management: 10k ADA

Total: 95,000 ADA

This is our initial estimate. We will prioritize resources to ensure we maximize the number of proposals (especially priority proposals) that get the help they need.

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

The goal of this project is to increase the leverage of the Cardano ecosystem’s existing resources:

1. Reduction of tasks: by collecting frequently asked questions from people who are either not ready to push a proposal forward or would choose not to and providing them with the information needed to make that decision, we’ll reduce the time anyone spends on it.
2. Automation: we’ll use the features of the project management software to automate some of the process steps, such as reminders on deadlines or follow-ups when a proposal falls behind in the submission process. That way, we can focus our efforts on the teams, projects, and proposals that need help.
3. Delegation: we’ll set up processes by which the Cardano Foundation, Catalyst team, and other key stakeholders can refer projects to us for onboarding.
4. Spending more time on key projects: by allowing key members of the Cardano community to spend more time on strategic projects, like onboarding projects from Web3 accelerators or creating partnerships with key brands and adopters, we’ll create more value for the ecosystem.
5. Off-the-shelf solution: since managing onboarding is not a core function of the Cardano ecosystem, launching great projects is, we’ll put the focus of the spend on making sure the projects that will go the distance with Cardano receive the best help possible. If the system needs to be scaled or white-labeled, we’ll be able to do that through further licensing or by creating a project to either create a proprietary platform for the Cardano ecosystem or integrating the functionality with existing tools or workflows.
6. Long-term efficiency: setting up proper tooling and processes will ensure this is a more cost-effective function for the ecosystem in the long run and can be adapted to future iterations of the ecosystem.